Menu

ABSTRACT

A menu is formed of two superposed sheets the upper of which is formed with two rows of removable tickets along its side edges. Each ticket bears indicia indicating a particular dinner, dish, or drink and next to each ticket at the center of the upper sheet is a nonremovable box indicating the price of the item in the associated box. The lowr sheet is divided into zones bearing indicia which correspond to those of the overlying tickets so that as a ticket is ripped off the selection made is exposed on the lower sheet. The tickets are given to the waiter who gives them to the cook for preparation, and the menu with some tickets removed constitutes the check for the meal.

United States Patent Fumel May 20, 1975 MENU 2,582,355 1/1952 Ratner40/107 Inventor: Florence Fumel 3,538,631 11/1970 Boatner 40/5Saint-Cyr-Au-Mont-dOr, FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS Rhone France844,159 7/1952 Germany 283/60 [73] Assignee: Anvar Agence Nationale de85,875 7/1920 swltzerland 283/60 Valorisation de la Recherche,Courbevoie, Hauts de Seine, France Primary Examinerwmlg A t Filed: Dec-1972 tlorney, Agen or Firm Karl Ross, Herbert Dubno [21] Appl. No.:317,260

[57] ABSTRACT Foreign Application Priority Data A menu is formed of twosuperposed sheets the upper Dec. 22, 1971 France 71.46909 of which isformed with two rows of removable tickets along its side edges. Eachticket bears indicia indicat- [52] US. Cl. 283/60; 40/2 R ing aparticular dinner, dish, or drink and next to each [51] Int. Cl 842d15/02 ticket at the center of the upper sheet is a nonremova- [58] Fieldof Search 40/2, 5, 110, 19.5, 61; ble box indicating the price of theitem in the associ- 283/60, 60.1 ated box. The lowr sheet is dividedinto zones bearing indicia which correspond to those of the overlying[56] References Cited tickets so that as a ticket is ripped off theselection UNITED STATES PATENTS made is exposed on the lower sheet. Thetickets are 844 596 211907 Heimesdorf 281/60 given to the waiter whogives them to the cook for 886 976 5/1908 HeinersdorfIIIIIIIIZIIT:583/601 Preparation and the some tickets removed 900:228 l0/l908 Ta1or.........................I.IIII 40/110 x constitutes the check forthe meal- 972,549 10/1910 Lewis 283/601 l,566,0l9 12/1925 Josephy 283/60l Clam 3 Drawmg F'gures [i1 zmezm 11211 MUM! I12], kwmmA PATENTED MAY 20 I975 6 FlG.2

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I III MENU FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a menuvBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION It is known in the catering industry andmore particularly in restaurants that the work performed by waiters isslowed down considerably due to the loss of time required for writingdown orders from customers. since the courses, dishes and drinksavailable must be described to these customers, whose orders are thenwritten down in an order book. from which a sheet is detached and sentto the cook. Moreover. it is also known that as a consequence either oferrors or employee cheating some of these order sheets are lost in thecourse of a day. As a result. it is rather difficult for the owner ormanager of a restaurant to keep close track of his business and have apermanent control of the number of meals served and paid for.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION It is an object of this invention to simplifythe work of waiters or waitresses entrusted with the registration of thecustomers orders, to avoid any fraud on the part of the waiters andcustomers while facilitating the payment for the consumed meals orproducts.

This invention is also concerned with a bill-of-fare or menu forcarrying out the method according to the present invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to this method, a menu is providedwhich is divided into as many zones as there are courses or dishes anddrinks likely to be served. each zone or compartment comprising adetachable label or voucher coded by a particular inscription, shapeand/or color. The labels corresponding to the courses and drinksselected by the consumer are detached by him and given to the waiter toorder the meal.

It will thus be seen that the number of dishes consumed and thereforethe number still available for newcomers can be checked immediately andat any time by the cook who keeps the labels or vouchers.

Although this method is particularly advantageous for restaurants, it isobvious that it is also applicable to many other trades and activities,particularly for registering orders in shops offering a relativelyreduced number of articles for sale, or articles that can be groupedinto a relatively small number of series.

According to a preferred form of embodiment of this invention, thebiIl-of-fare or menu comprises two superposed sheets of which the topone comprises a plurality of labels or vouchers slightly precut and eachprinted with the name of a particular dish or drink that is served inthe premises. the lower sheet comprising the same inscriptionsdistributed in the same order as those of the top sheet. and eachadapted, when the associated label or voucher has been detached, toindicate the dish or drink actually consumed and to be paid.

With this particular arrangement of the menu, the price to be charged tothe consumer does not require either a handwritten check, since it isonly necessary to tally up the various labels detached when ordering themeal. As a result. the waiters task is further simplilied and themanagement of the restaurant is improved accordingly.

Preferably, each sheet comprises printed divisions which, whenjuxtaposed with the course and drink data with which they are aligned,carry inscriptions concerning the price of these courses and drinks.

With this arrangement the consumer's information is improvedconsiderably while simplifying the work necessary for preparing hisbill. since it is only necessary to add the numbers appearing in thedivisions juxtaposed with missing labels.

Advantageously, and at least on the top sheet, the inscriptionsconcerning the dishes and drinks proposed by the restaurant to theconsumers are printed in divisions having different colors. each colorconcerning a specific series of dishes and drinks.

This procedure will thus simplify the identification work of the waiterand also of the cook, since both of them can tell at a glance the natureof the ordered dish and drink.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING The above and other features and advantageswill become apparent from the following, reference being made to theaccompanying drawing in which:

FIGS. 1 and 2 are plane views from above showing the outer sheet and theinner sheet of this bill of fare, respectively, and

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the bill of fare during its actualuse.

This menu comprises an under sheet 2 and an upper sheet 3. These twosheets are folded vertically at 4 and 5. respectively, along theircentral vertical centerline; so as to form two half-sheets. when themenu is being used as shown in FIG. 3, the upper sheet 3 is disposedinside the under sheet 2 so that the fold lines 4 and 5 of these twosheets are superposed.

As illustrated in FIG. 2 the inner sheet 3 comprises a plurality ofdetachable labels or vouchers 6 associated with each half-sheet andbounded by horizontal and vertical tear or score lines of cut 7 and 8,respectively. It will be seen on the one hand that the horizontalperforations 7 extend only from the outer edges of each half-sheet tothe nearest vertical row of perforations 8, and on the other hand thatthe vertical score lines 8 are equally spaced from, and disposed oneither side of, the fold line 5.

In this form of embodiment the upper sheet 3 comprises, between the twofold lines 8, a plurality of boxes 9 corresponding in number to thetickets 6 with which they are juxtaposed and aligned.

The tickets 6 carry inscriptions describing briefly each one of thedishes or drinks offered by the restaurant, and the boxes 9 carry anumber denoting the cost or price of the product inscribed in the ticketjuxtaposed thereto.

Finally, as shown at 10a, 10b, 10c, 10d and 10e. the tickets 6 aregrouped by series corresponding to a particular type of consumableproduct, these series being distinguished from one another by the colorof their background, each color corresponding to a specific series. Inaddition, the longer the preparation time for the item involved, thedarker the color of the label in the same series.

The under sheet 2 comprises the same data as carried by the top sheet 3,these data being of course disposed in the same manner as thoseinscribed in the upper sheet 3.

When the bill of fare or menu is being used as illus trated in FIG. 3,that is, for ordering one of the dishes available in the restaurant, itis only necessary to detach the corresponding ticket from the top sheet3, as shown for example at 611 and to lay it on the tablev When thewaiter sees the ticket on the edge of a table, he becomes immediatelyaware that the customer wants to order something and he can take thisorder by simply picking up the ticket so displayed,

Moreover, according to the color of the background of this label, thecolor of the inscriptions printed thereon, the waiter can tellimmediately, without reading the text carried by this ticket whether thecourse ordered by the customer is for instance an entree. a wholedinner, a special dish or a desert. Moreover, when the ticket is handedto the cook, he knows instantaneously from the color and its line whatkind of dish he must prepare and if the color is dark indicating a longpreparation time he may start on it immediately.

The use of this menu in a restaurant reduces considerably the timenecessary for ordering a meal, both between the customer and the waiterand between the waiter and the cook. while simplifying the work of boththe waiter and the cook. thereby improving to a sub stantial degree theorganization for dispensing meals and drinks.

The use of detachable tickets constituting a sort of voucher fordesignating each one of the products consumed in the restaurant affordsat any time an easy accounting or reckoning of the number of coursesalready served and therefore an easy checking of the number of productsthus prepared, the number of products actually dispensed and the numberof products charged to the customers, thus eliminating any sourceoferrors. whether intentional or not, involving losses of profits asobserved in the conventional management method.

This menu for restaurant also simplifies considerably charging thecustomers, the products consumed by the customer being shown by theabsence of tickets detached from the top sheet 3, as shown at 11 in FIG.3. Under these conditions, it is only necessary for the customer to addthe numbers displayed in boxes 9 juxtaposed to the spaces uncovered bythe missing labels. Also in this case it is possible to check at anytime the amount of the bill to be paid by adding the free boxes of thebill of fare received by the cashier and comparing them with the numberof consumable products dispensed to the customers.

It may also be emphasized that the absence of tickets displays the briefdescription of the consumed dish mentioned on the underlying sheet 2,thus reminding the customer of the contents of his order. and avoidingany unpleasant argument when paying the bill.

Of course. the shape. position, number and distribution of the ticketsas well as the shape and distribution of the boxes 9 may vary as afunction of the specific ap plications contemplated. and should not beconstrued as being limited by the specific form of embodimentillustrated in the attached drawing and described hereinabove.

Thus, in a modified form of embodiment, this menu may consist of twosheets as disclosed hereinabove but each sheet may comprise for exampleonly one section or more than two sections.

Of course, the method of registering a selection, described hereinabovewith reference to the attached drawing is applicable not only torestaurants but also to many other trades or shops offering to thecustomers a relatively reduced number of goods. or services or goodsthat can be divided into a relatively small number of series or groups.

I claim:

1. A menu comprising a pair of mutually attached coexentensive sheetsincluding a top sheet overlying a bottom sheet; means subdividing saidtop sheet into a plurality of rectangular zones in a vertical row saidmeans facilitating separation of said zones from one another and fromthe balance of said top sheet by weak ening the edges of said zones andpermitting tearing along said edges; printed indicia representing itemsof fare on each of said zones; printed indicia in a column narrower thansaid row adjacent each of said zones on said top sheet and remainingupon the balance thereof upon removal of the associated zone to indicatea characteristic of the respective item of fare; means subdividing saidbottom sheet into at least one row of zones coextensive and registeringwith respective zones of said top sheet but fixed together againstseparation whereby a zone of said bottom sheet is exposed upon removalof a zone of said top sheet from the balance thereof; and identicalindicia in each of the zones of the bottom sheet to the indicia carriedby the respective detachable zone of said top sheet, the indiciaremaining on the balance of said top sheet being provided in a row ofrespective further zones, at least some of the zones of one of the rowsbeing of one color and other zones of said one of said rows being ofanother color corre sponding to a family of items indicated thereby.each of said sheets being folded down the center and said bottom sheetenclosing said top sheet in a closed position of the menu.

1. A menu comprising a pair of mutually attached coexentensive sheetsincluding a top sheet overlying a bottom sheet; means subdividing saidtop sheet into a plurality of rectangular zones in a vertical row, saidmeans facilitating separation of said zones from one another and fromthe balance of said top sheet by weakening the edges of said zones andpermitting tearing along said edges; printed indicia representing itemsof fare on each of said zones; printed indicia in a column narrower thansaid row adjacent each of said zones on said top sheet and remainingupon the balance thereof upon removal of the associated zone to indicatea characteristic of the respective item of fare; means subdividing saidbottom sheet into at least one row of zones coextensive and registeringwith respective zones of said top sheet but fixed together againstseparation whereby a zone of said bottom sheet is exposed upon removalof a zone of said top sheet from the balance thereof; and identicalindicia in each of the zones of the bottom sheet to the indicia carriedby the respective detachable zone of said top sheet, the indiciaremaining on the balance of said top sheet being provided in a row ofrespective further zones, at least some of the zones of one of the rowsbeing of one color and other zones of said one of said rows being ofanother color corresponding to a family of items indicated thereby, eachof said sheets being folded down the center and said bottom sheetenclosing said top sheet in a closed position of the menu.